Reform of the Soviet Union's educational system was begun again in the 1980s under Mikhail Gorbachev with the goal of educating the Soviet citizen to function effectively in a newly restructured economy. This paper takes stock of the efforts to reform Soviet schools undertaken between 1984 and 1990. Soviet educators recognized that reconstruction of social and economic life, the reconstruction of secondary and higher education, and the course of reform of the entire educational system were intertwined. Among the problems with Soviet schools cited by educators were the lack of funding for education, poor facilities, the poor health of Soviet children, and the lack of relevance to their lives with which students viewed their education. The social studies teaching was in a state of crisis because students and educators questioned the value of teaching the communist ideology. The rigid academic curriculum in Soviet schools was cited as a further problem. Only 2.8% of the curriculum was devoted to electives; consequently, much of the curriculum has become useless and formalized for the students. Other problem areas discussed included vocational education, teacher education and training, and problems related to ethnic groups. (DB)